Springsteen returns to Izod Center in first N.J. gig since Clarence Clemons' death

EAST RUTHERFORD — A single spotlight falling on his work shirt, Bruce Springsteen stood at center stage in the Izod Center. Strumming frenetically, he sang "Wrecking Ball," a song of swamps and stadiums, parking lots and football Giants, pausing dramatically to let the packed house cheer every Jersey reference.

The Boss had come home tonight, and he had sound and song and good cheer for the room he knows best: Izod Center, the Meadowlands arena that he opened in 1981 with six historic concerts — "back when it was named after a human being," he joked.

A great friend was not with him. This was Springsteen’s first New Jersey concert since the death of Clarence Clemons, the beloved E Street Band saxophonist. During the elegiac "My City of Ruins," he gave the audience an opportunity to express grief at the loss of a titanic musician beloved far beyond the Garden State, turning the microphone toward 20,000 roaring ticket holders, each one with a hole in his heart.

To get him through the Wrecking Ball Tour without the iconic presence of Clemons, Springsteen called in the cavalry, supplementing his E Street Band with 18 musicians, including a small choir, a percussionist and a five-piece horn section.

Jake Clemons, the nephew of Clarence, filled in admirably for his uncle, handling world-famous solos with enthusiasm and considerable skill. Every time he put the mouthpiece to his lips to blow, the crowd roared like they’d just witnessed a rebirth.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band were supporting the recently released "Wrecking Ball," the rocker’s 17th studio album and a highly confrontational set of songs. Springsteen, who has long been identified with the working class and blue collar laborers, has never been shy about addressing politics and economics in his lyrics, but he has rarely been as direct as he is on his new album.

In part because of its coherence — and its timeliness — "Wrecking Ball" has received much better notices than "Working on a Dream," the Springsteen album that preceded it. The album made its debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — the 10th time Springsteen has topped the chart, tying him with Elvis Presley. (Neither the Boss nor the King has scored as many No.1 albums as the Beatles or Jay-Z.)

"Wrecking Ball" is not an E Street Band album: Springsteen’s longtime collaborators hardly contribute to the recordings. Yet the musicians have embraced the new material, and at Izod Center, they backed the Boss with so much fervor that an observer would be forgiven for thinking they’d written those songs themselves.

The homecoming concert was the first New Jersey date on the Wrecking Ball Tour, which began March 18 in Atlanta. Wednesday night, Springsteen and the E Street Band will be back at the Izod Center for another show.

On Friday, he’ll take the stage at Madison Square Garden in New York, and repeat the feat three nights later. After that, Springsteen leaves for the Midwest and the West Coast, but he’ll return to the Garden State on May 2 for his debut appearance at Newark’s Prudential Center.